Strange Things
by Problem Child1
Summary: “You know he’s a vampire right?” Xander asked. “Yeah,” Vi sighed. “But he’s just so pretty.”
1. One

Disclaimer: L.J. Smith and Kevin Williamson own The Vampire Diaries, while Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to the wonderful Joss Whedon.

A/N: So it's been a while since I've written anything, and my first foray into Buffy or TVD. Anyway, I'm only planning this to be a two-parter, but let me know what you think!

_Well people you may not believe it  
But there's something wrong somewhere  
Well no matter where you go you'll hear bout a thing you never heard before  
Strange things are happening everyday  
_-"Strange Things" Abigail Washburn

* * *

"Quaint little town, ain't it?" Vi commented.

Xander frowned at the slayer. It was nearing dark in the sleepy town. "Did you even read any of the book Giles gave us on the history of this place?"

"No. What'd they say?"

"They, uh, they said stuff about the vampires from here… and stuff…" Xander trailed off, ignoring her triumphant look. "Okay, I didn't actually read them either. Giles gave us about five dusty old Watcher's diaries to read, and really, after you've read one haven't you read them all?"

"So you don't know anything about this town, but you're grilling me on it?" Vi asked skeptically.

"I never said that I don't know anything about it. Dawn gave me the cliff notes version of this charming little hamlet. Apparently in the 1800s, the town founders had a little problem with vampires, and formed their own council, locking up over 25 vampires in a church, which was sealed and burned down." Xander laughed. "Of course, they didn't know there was a slayer stationed here."

"Are you sure you didn't read the diary? That was awful informative," Vi commented. "I wouldn't tell anyone!"

"I didn't read it," he protested. "Dawnie is just really excited about being a watcher in training, so now she's all Mini-Giles, reading the watcher diaries of yore and imparting her newfound knowledge on all who dare to ask her one simple question."

Vi frowned and flopped down on the bed in the B&B she and Xander were staying at for the next two nights. "Is that why the energy feels all creepy?" She propped herself up on two elbows to get a better look at him. "Did Dawn say what happened to the vampires? Did they die?"

"I would assume so. I don't know too many vampires that survive a burning. But stranger things have happened. Hellmouthy things." He held out a hand to her to help her up. "Did you want to go to this grill place before our new slayer shows up? I'm starving."

She giggled and patted his stomach on the way out of the door. "You do have a figure to maintain."

"You mean my sexy figure, right?" He called out to her. "Right?"

"This must be the place to hang out," Vi whispered to Xander when they got there.

"Even Sunnydale had the Bronze," Xander replied. It was pretty busy for a Wednesday night. He spotted empty chairs at the bar. "I'll save you a seat. She should be here in about half an hour."

"Are you sure you don't want to play?" she implored.

He tapped on his eye patch. "It makes things like strategy and depth perception a little trickier than usual."

"Have it your way." She made a beeline for the pool tables while he grabbed a seat at the bar. The bartender made a hang gesture that he acknowledged Xander, but didn't come over.

It had been nearly eight months since the Sunnydale Hellmouth had been closed for good. Since then, the Scooby gang had split up. Buffy was off enjoying her life as a normal girl in Italy and continued her streak of having an awful taste in guys. Willow and Kennedy were in South America alternating between vacationing and searching for new slayers, according to Willow's last postcard. She was also training with local covens there to better control her powers. Xander himself was due to go to Africa in a week and a half. He was just making this last expedition in the states as a favor to Faith, who had her hands busy with the Cleveland Hellmouth. It was proving to be just as tricky as the Sunnydale one. The trips usually weren't made with slayers, but Giles had wanted him to take one because of the town's sordid past.

The bartender finally came to take Xander's order, snapping him from his rumination. "Sorry," the guy apologized. "We're a bit short staffed right now. The usual bartender just stopped showing up last week. What can I get you?"

Xander filed away that little bit of information. Being in Sunnydale so long had given him good instincts about stuff like that, even if he didn't have the slayer senses to tell him when vampires were about. "Two Heinekens, please." He reached into his pocket to get his ID, but the bartender waved him off. "It's the eye patch, isn't it? I'm starting to feel old."

The bartender wrote down his order, but didn't reply to him. Xander sighed, and turned to where Vi was kicking some guy's ass at pool.

"That your girlfriend?"

Xander whipped his head around. There was a dark haired guy sitting next to him all of the sudden. "Isn't it bad manners to sneak up on a guy with only one good eye?" Instead of letting the guy answer, he just went on. "She's my business partner, actually. We're in town for a day or two."

"Shame." The guy let his eyes linger on Vi longer than Xander was comfortable with. "She's pretty cute." He held his hand out. "I'm Damon, by the way."

Xander gripped the man's hand, not failing to notice how icy cold they were. "Xander Harris."

"That's my brother over there with his girlfriend." Damon pointed to a couple cuddled up in a booth talking to a girl with curly black hair. Xander thought the girl sitting next to his brother looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. But he could swear he saw her in one of Giles' old books during a research "party" a few years ago.

The bartender put down the two beers before Xander could ask Damon anything about it. "Anything else?"

"An order of nachos, buffalo wings – extra spicy, and mozzarella sticks for me. He'll take a cheeseburger with everything on it," Vi answered, sitting on the other side of Xander. "Is this my beer?" She slapped down a hundred dollar bill in front of him. "Can you believe that kid tried to go double or nothing with me? I couldn't go easy on him, he was acting cockier than Spike when we would try to spar with him." She took a long drink of her beer. "Who's your friend?"

Damon flashed her his most charming, make-your-panties-evaporate smile. "Damon Salvatore."

"Vi," she giggled, blushing. "Vi. Is me, I mean. That's my name. Vi."

He brought the hand she extended up to his mouth and lightly brushed his lips over the back of her palm. "Charmed," he purred. She blushed even harder. "I think I won't interrupt your dinner any further, but if you care, Vi, it's been a while since I've had a worthy pool opponent."

She raised an eyebrow. "You think your ego can handle being beat by a girl?"

He smirked at her. "I'm sorry to say, but I'm very good," he drawled.

"Then I'll find you when we're done." She smiled and watched as he walked away to the table where his brother was sitting at, much to the annoyance of everyone at that table, it seemed.

"You know he's a vampire right?" Xander asked.

"Yeah," she sighed. "But he's just so pretty." He looked back when she said that and winked. She blushed yet again and turned back to Xander. "I forgot about stupid vampiric hearing," she muttered.

"I know Buffy may have set a bad example, but in general we make a rule of not dating vampires, us being good guys and all."

"Can I at least beat him in pool?"

Xander's phone began to chirp before he could answer. He looked down at the caller id and frowned. "I encourage it, actually. I gotta take this. It won't be longer than five minutes." He stood up and snapped his phone open, making his way out of the restaurant and into the alley. "Hey, Dawnie, what's up?"

She sighed heavily into the phone. "Xander, I asked you not to call me that anymore. I'm seventeen now! I'm not a kid anymore."

"Aw, but you'll always be twelve to me, with ice cream on your nose and trying on Buffy's clothes," he joked.

"I still take Buffy's clothes," she admitted. "But it's only because they look better on me than they do on her. Anyway, that's not why I called. I was wondering how it was going. Have you talked to this new slayer yet?"

"I talked to her briefly on the phone. She said she was at cheerleading practice, but that she'd meet us at a restaurant later."

"You're meeting her at a restaurant? Is that safe?"

"It should be. She said she didn't want her mom involved, which I can sympathize with."

"And how is Vi doing? This is her first time talking to a slayer. Though I suppose since she was a potential, she has a better time relating to this girl than you do," Dawn mused.

"She's doing fine. What's with the check in? Giles set you up to this?"

"No. I was just doing some research on Mystic Falls, and there's some pretty wiggy stuff that's been coming up. Such as, that church I was telling you about? The vampires are still in it. They were sealed into some tomb in the bottom of it. It's being held in place with a pretty complicated spell, according to Willow. And there have been a lot more animal attacks as of recently. You know, animal attacks with trauma to the neck?"

"I guess these cops aren't any more creative than the Sunnydale cops." Xander leaned against the wall to the restaurant. "In your research, have you come across any pictures?"

"A few, why?"

"There was this girl in the restaurant, who I could swear I saw in one of Giles' old books, only the picture was from the Civil War."

"Hmm, let me check." Xander could hear Dawn rapidly flipping through books. "Can you describe her? Was she a blond?"

"No, brunette. About mid height. Really skinny. Really pretty smile."

"There's a few different girls that meet that description," Dawn replied. "I'll send you a few pictures. Call me back when you figure it out?"

"Will do, Dawnie." He put an extra emphasis on her name, causing her to whine.

"That's not funny, Xander." And she hung up on him.

He chuckled and flipped his phone closed. But before he could move, he was shoved back up against the wall with a hand around his throat. It was Damon holding him there, his eyes flashing.

"What are you doing in Mystic Falls? Who are you?" he demanded, shoving him further into the wall.

Xander winced as his head connected with the brick. He took a survey of his surroundings. When he peered over Damon's shoulder, he could see the guy that was introduced as his brother and his brother's girlfriend looking concerned. The grip was tight around his neck. Xander was sure there would be bruises there tomorrow, and that there would be no end of shit from Faith when she saw him again.

"I asked you a question," Damon yelled as he squeezed tighter. "Who the fuck are you?"

Then the most inopportune thing happened – Xander's phone chirped again and again. It was Dawn, sending him the pictures that matched up with what he had told her. Damon snatched the phone away and began to look through the picture mail. He got through the last picture and threw the phone to the ground in disgust.

"How do you know about Katherine?" He let his grip loosen on Xander's neck enough for him to gasp for breath. "Do you know where she is?"

"Katherine?" Xander squeaked out.

"Yes, Katherine," Damon replied impatiently. "You just had a picture of her on your phone. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that you know where she is. And now you're going to tell me before I rip your throat out."

"Before?" Xander asked. "That doesn't seem fair. Unless I rip your throat out seems like it would give me more of an incentive to help you. If you're going to do it either way, I don't really see a point of telling you."

Damon backhanded him. "Stop fucking with me and just tell me where she is!"

Xander's head snapped to the side and his vision went black with the force that the vampire had hit him. But before he regained his sight, the pressure that was holding him against the wall was gone and he sagged forward, catching his breath. When he was able to fully see again, Damon was on the ground and Vi had her boot on his chest, holding him there while he glared up at her. She was in fighting stance with her stake poised, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

The brother's girlfriend rushed forward to help him, but her boyfriend held her back. "While I'm sure Damon deserves this, I'm sure there's been a big misunderstanding," he started. "My name is Stefan and this is my girlfriend Elena. And you are…?" He trailed off, waiting for either of them to answer.

"Xander," he rasped.

"And I'm Vi-" she stepped down harder on Damon's chest for extra emphasis – "the Vampire Slayer."


	2. Two

Disclaimer: I own neither Vampires Diaries nor Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Those are property of L.J. Smith and Joss Whedon, respectively.

A/N: So I kind of lost focus of where I was going, which explains why it kind of sucks. I hope the banter doesn't suck too hard, however. And who knows? If I can get some inspiration, maybe there's a future for a sequel?

"Vampire slayer?" Elena gasped.

"You know, Elena, one girl in all the world destined to die an unfortunate and mostly gruesome death," Damon replied, smirking up at the glaring girl who was holding him down. She responded to his taunting by pressing down most of her weight on his chest and gave him a triumphant look when he grunted.

"I think we have a misunderstanding here," Stefan began, but was cut off by Vi before he could continue.

"You think? Because it looks to me like he was attacking Xander. And I tend to respond appropriately when vampires attack my friends."

"Damon can be a little headstrong," Stefan said.

"That's an understatement," Elena muttered.

"He heard you identify us as vampires and we assumed the worst. Of course, Damon rushed into the situation without bothering to plan it out," Stefan finished with a glare to at his brother.

"Katherine's picture was on his phone," Damon pointed out. He looked up at the small girl holding him down. "You know, the floor isn't getting anymore comfortable. That is, unless you'd like to join me." He winked up at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Don't let him up until I stop seeing spots behind my eye," Xander warned.

Vi craned her head to salute him. "Aye, aye, cap'n!"

"So who's Katherine?" Xander checked his watch. "We have ten minutes until our meeting."

"Meeting?" Elena echoed.

Xander sighed. "It's a long story."

"Last I heard the slayer was blond," Damon piped in.

Vi pushed him a little further into the ground, ignoring his protests to watch the shirt. "You think I wouldn't make a good blond?"

Stefan sighed. It was just like his brother to try to piss off a slayer. He'd been even more self destructive since they'd opened the tomb. "Damon, I know I told you about the slayers."

"Yeah, but this one looks feisty." Damon looked up at Elena at that moment, who was beginning to realize this was something else she was being kept in the dark about. "Buck up, Elena, I'm sure Stefan had a good reason for leaving out this very important part of vampire lore."

Xander gave Stefan a questioning look as well. "How do you know about the slayers?"

"I believe we have a mutual friend by the name of Angel," Stefan replied.

"Define 'friend,'" Xander said.

"Oh my god, do you have a soul too?" Vi exclaimed.

Damon laughed out loud. "Even when my brother drinks human blood, he's no where near as entertaining as Angelus."

Vi threw a smirk at him that reminded Xander a little too much of Spike. "Word on the grapevine is Angelus is all fun and games until he starts banging your girlfriend and trying to end the world."

"And wearing leather," Xander added. "That man is a huge fan of leather."

"I don't have to have a soul to not want to kill humans," Stefan pointed out.

Xander held a hand up. "We're all getting off track way too quickly. I'm going to assume that Katherine is someone that looks like your girlfriend, and I had her picture because she looked familiar to me and I wanted to know why." He saw Damon start to struggle and hastily added, "Not because I've seen her in person, I don't think, but because I used to be research guy and she's probably in one of those dusty old Watcher books I've had to read."

"I'm not Katherine," Elena added.

Xander smiled at her. "We've all had to deal with our doppelgangers at some point or another."

"Katherine is the vampire who turned us," Stefan told them.

"She turned both of you?" Vi replied. "Kinky."

Elena made a face at the thought while Damon laughed hollowly. "She was supposed to be in a tomb underneath a burned down church, but that was blown to hell when we opened it and found out she conveniently got out and just didn't tell anyone."

Vi nodded in solidarity. "Vampiresses can be such bitches. Also, Xan, I told you the tomb thing wasn't a myth, you totally owe me five bucks."

"Our bet was whether or not the vampires were alive, not whether or not it existed."

"Stop being a sore loser and just pay up."

He glanced down at his watch. "How about I buy you another beer after this? Believe me, given the way some of the girls react, you'll want it."

"Sounds fair to me. What should I do with him?" She gestured down at Damon with her stake.

"Don't kill him!" Elena blurted out. "I mean, please. He may not seem like it, but he's not completely awful."

"'Not completely awful?'" Damon repeated. "This is the worst plea for someone's life I've ever heard. It was much better in Georgia. And you know I'm all in favor of getting sweet little Elena drunk again."

"Are you sure you don't want us to kill him?" Xander asked.

Elena sighed. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Just making sure. Let him up, Vi."

She removed her boot from Damon's chest and held her hand out to help him up. "No hard feelings, just doing my job, you know?" He eyed her outstretched arm, but opted to jump up on his own. She rolled her eyes at him. "I knew you couldn't handle being beat by a girl."

"Thanks for not trying to kill him," Stefan said.

Xander caught eyes with Elena for the briefest of seconds. "When I first found out about vampires, I hated them. I hated them more than anything, including my dad. I thought Buffy was crazy for dating Angel." He smiled self deprecatingly. "But these days, who hasn't dated a demon?"

Vi raised her hand. "I haven't!"

Stefan nodded at Xander and he turned to the younger girl with him. "Good! Keep it that way." He picked up the pieces of his phone that Damon had thrown to the ground. "You think the council will pay for a new one? Technically, it wasn't my fault this time."

Vi snuck one look back at the two vampires behind them with the girl between them. "Poor girl," she muttered to Xander.

Damon quirked an eyebrow at the slayer's comment. She must have known his vampiric hearing would pick up on it. Instead of commenting on it, he smirked and clapped his hands together. "That went well, wouldn't you say, brother? Definitely the most civil encounter I've had with a slayer. What about you, Elena?"

She moved her eyes between Stefan and Damon. "So what is a vampire slayer?"

"Caroline Forbes?"

Caroline looked up in surprise at the two people who approached her. It was a cute girl with a pixie haircut and a skirt with combat boots – not her style, but the girl pulled it off – and an older man with a loud hawaiian shirt and an eye patch. "Are you here to talk to me about that All-Girls school in Cleveland?"

The older man slipped into the booth across from her and smiled at her. "What do you know about vampires?"


End file.
